Drilling apparatus



June 16, 1925. 1,542,172

W. B. REED ET AL DRILLING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 27, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l W. B. REED ET AL June 16, 1925.

DRILLING APPARATUS l Filed Feb. 27, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 abbot/mu,

Patented June 16, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' lWARREN B. REED AND WALTER Hernan., or MORGAN cn'Y, Lousiana.

DBILLING APPARATUS.

To all whom, /may concern.'

Be it known -that we, WARREN B. Rara) and WALTER HEPIER, both vcitizens of the United States, both residing at Morgan City, in the parish of St. Mary and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drilling A paratus; and we do hereby declare the fol owing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. v

This invention relates to oil drilling apparatus, and has for its'object to provide a means of this character which will be simple in construction, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, and more eicient in operation than those heretofore proposed. t

With these and other objects in View the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter disclosed and pointed out in the claims. v Referring to the accompany-in drawings forming a part of this speci cation, 1n which like numerals designate like parts in all the views: l

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic vertical sectional view of an apparatus made in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the .line 2r-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view partially in section and with certain parts omitted,

particularly of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlar ed detail sectional view of the lowercutting portion of the apparatus;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows. A

This invention is an improvement over the prior Patent #1,378,056, dated May 17,

' 1921, to W. B. Reed and W. Hepler.

AAs' is well known, in the drilling of oil and other wells, it is often desirable to obtain samples or cores of the various stratathrough which the drill passes and in many instances lit is also desirable to know the kind of formation lying just ahead of the hole which is being bored to size, in which cases a core such as would be produced with 'a diamond drin in formations that would permit of its use would be of extreme value to the driller.

In the rotary system of drillin wells, the samples of the cuttings of the h tail or other type of bit are brought to the surface by means of water which is pumped down throu h the hollow drill stem, through the bit at t e bottom of the hole andthen backv up outside the drill stem. In our previous patent, however, above referred to,

' these core samples were brou ht u intact without the aid of Water an in t is particular invention these said core sam les are likewise brought up intact and ree fom water, all as will be disclosed hereina ter.

. Referring to the drawin s, 1 indicatesv the drill stem screwed into t e upper head recess 9 in the member 6; and l0 represents set screws carried by said cutter member 6 which take against the extensions 8, and thus hold 'the cutters 7 in place, all as will be clear from Figures 1, 3 and 4. Located inside the lower edge of the cutter head 6 and screw threaded thereto as at 11 is the fish'tail cutter or bit 12 provided with a solid plug portion 13 at its upper end. Rigid with said upper end or plug portion 13 is the guide sleeve 14 adapted to move up and down inside'the core tube 15 which is closed at its upper end b the plug 16 having the orifice 17 in which is screw threaded the short pipe 18 entering the inverted chamber 19 with which the upper head member 2 is provided. At the extreme lower end of the drill pipe4 and' drill stem 1 and may enter the space 26 above the plug 16 and flow down through the space 27 between the core tube 15 and the outer drill pipe 4, all as will be clear from Figures 1 and 4.

When thev water reaches the extreme lower end of the pi e 4, it enters the passages 28 with which t e ring member or spider 2 0 is provided, and from said p assaees 28 1t enters the passages 29 with whlch tlle cutter head is provided. These passages 29, as best shown in Figures 1 and 3, terminate on the extreme lower edge of the cutter member 6, and between the individual bits 7, so that the mud fiuid or water readily reaches the extreme lower cutting points 30 of the bit 7 and thus prevents an undue heating of said bits which has heretofore given a great deal of trouble in drills of this character.

After leaving the passages 29 the said water or mud fluid passes up outside the drill pipe 4 as indicated by t e arrows 31, and is pumped out of the well in the usual manuel'. As the drill is rotated, the fish tail bit 12 unscrews from the screw threads 11 carried b the short pipe section 33 and together wit the guide sleeve 14 passes up on the interior of the core tube 15. The short pipe or tube section 33 extends down below the lower edge of the cutter member 6 a considerable distance, as is illustrated in Figure 1, and it serves the important function of preventing the water which exits from the passages 29 from washing out the core material which is forced up inside said tube 33 as the cutters 7 rotate.

The operation of this new drilling construction will be clear from the foregoing, but may be briefly summarized as follows:

Upon rotating the drill pipe 1 and cutters 7, the fish tail member 12 will unscrew from the sleeve 33 and together with the integral guide tube 14 will be pushed up into the core tube 15. The cutters 7 continuing to rotate will force the cut material into the core barrel until the guide sleeve and member 13 reach the top of said barrel if the core is of a sufficient length. This construction whereby the core barrel is initially closed by member 13 constitutes an important feature of this invention, because it maintains, until the member 13 rises a closed core barrel that does not gather scrapings from the side of the hole and therefore the core obtained by this apparatus is not mixed with material from miscellaneous depths as is found to be the case in previous constructions.

In other words, it will be clear that the members 12, 13 and 14, constituting a single rigid structure which we call the plug blt, effectually closes the core barrel 15 against the entrance of extraneous material before the core is cut; and the unscrewing of this said structure or plug bit from the threads 11 openslthe core barrel to receive the cut core material after the cutter head is in operation, so there is no way by which the core that is brought to the surface can be contaminated with extraneous matter.

The results are with this invention that one is enabled to take an uncontaminated core at the exact location desired and thus obtain data which can be absolutely relied upon.

- Another important feature of this invention resides in the construction by which the cutter bits 7 can be readily removed, sharpened, and replaced and at a comparatively small cost. lThat is to say, by providing these removable bits 7 we eliminate the large expense incident to the use of a rotary shoe with fixed cutters which has to be thrown away as soon as its cutting points are dulled.

The water which flows down. through the hollow pipe l passes through the channels 25, 27, 28, and 29 to the extreme points 30 of the said bits 7, and then up outside the pipe 4 as indicated by the arrows 31, so that all overheating of the cutters 7 is prevented. .This constitutes another important feature of the invention, because in the prior drills the getting of mud and water to the very edge of the bit is not accom lished. In such prior devices after boring t e core for a short time the fit between the rock and other material and the cutting member is so tight that the water does not penetrate to the cuttin edge of the tool at all, and so great is the eat generated that burnt cores result.

In fact, it is a common practice to have clay or shale cores fused into the rock and thus destroy the evidence desired or producing false evidence. It has even been observed that the iron barrels carrying the cutting edges have been fused with the clays of the formation owing tothe lack of water for cooling said edges.

In this invention, on the other hand, actual experience has shown that the placing of water under pressure at the extreme cutting edges 30 as disclosed above, not only facilitates the cutting of the rock but it positively eliminates all burning of the cores. i

Another feature of importance in this invention resides in the fact that the water and mud is effectually prevented from reaching the core in the core barrel 15. In its downward p'assage it is excluded from Said core barrel by the plugs 16 and pipe 18, while in its upward passage it passes outside the drill pipe 4 and thus is the mud and water from the drill stem or pipe prevented from coming in contact with the core'material at all times.

The short tube 33, as stated above, constitutes still another important feature of that the central -in the identical orm in which it lies in the `the invention, in that it prevents the water stratum and thus furnishes the valuable data which is sought.

Still another important feature of this invention resides in the removable ring or s ider 20 into which a core tube 15 lits as shown. This spider is provided with the .passages 28 for the water and also carries the four hinged segments 21 that drop down into the full line position shown in Fi re 4 and thus prevent the core material rom slipping out of the core tube when the drill is raised. It is found in practice that these segments 2l act in various Ways with different materials.

That is to say, when a rock core is formed, they lie against it, and engage in the uneven edges of the core, thus preventing slippage. In/acore of clay, such, for example, as that known as gumbo or shale,'they do not ordinarily function because this type of material almost invariably packs in the core barrel and does not tend to escape from said barrel. Accordingly, such clay material usually seals the segments in a vertical position.

In a sand core, on the other hand, the segments are found to invariably drop into the full line position shown and thus prevent the sand from escaping. It has been found in practice that if a single segment drops it will hold the core. We have not lost a single core after having tried these segments.

When the core tool is first introduced into the hole the core tube 15 fills with water or drilling fluid through the holes 36, see Figures 1 and 2, but as the core material ushes upwardly the guide tube 14 and pug 13 from the bottom, this water is re laced by said plug and escapes through said) passages 36 into the regular channel.

The sliding ts between the parts 18 and 19, and between the core barrel 15 and the sleeve 14 and its Vassociated parts are so proportioned as to accomplish this result.

It will therefore be seen.. th'at this particular construction of water head constitutes a valuable improvement over prior construc- -tions in that we do away entirely with the back pressure valves at the top of th core barrels that have been heretofore found necessary. We therefore avoid the objection to these back pressure valves due to the pump pressure keeping them` closed. These pump pressures in the prior constructions would ol'ten close these valves with such a force that cores of loose material became disintegrated by water in the core barrels that c ould not exert pressures; as the cores would risc, that would be sufficient to overcome the said pump l'n'essures on said back pressul'e valves; and the loose core materials were, as a result of these objections, often carried away by the water, upon the oulside of the water head, and thus would valuable data be lost. With the construction of water head disclosed above, howl' ever, such an objection is avoided.

The spider member 20 is made removable in order to facilitate the construction for it has been found difficult to otherwise insert thedropped segments 21, as well kas to drill passages 28 through said spider.

In addition to this, unless the spider 2() were made removable it would be difficult to drill the Water passages 29 through the cutter head. The sleeve or short tube 33 is made removable because its thread 11 is subject to wear and the sleeve can be repllliced at small expense when it is remova e.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction as well as the arrangement of parts without depart ing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore we do not wish to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be' required by the claims.

What we claim is:

l. In an apparatus of the class described the combination of an outer drill pipe; a core tube located inside said pipe; a guide tube inside said core tube; and a plug member associated with said guide tube and adapted to be pushed up into said core tube by the core material, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of an outer drill pipe; a core. tube located inside said ipe; means for closing the upper end of sald core tube; a guide tube inside said core tube; a plug member associated with said guide tube and ada ted to be pushed up into said core tube b t e core material; and means to hold said plug member below the bottom of said core tube until after the drill pipe has been rotated, substantially as described.

8. In a drill the combination of a cutter head; a removable cutter bit attached to said head; a plug member; a guide tube associated with said member; means to detachably attach said plugmember to said cutter head; and a core tube into which said guide tube and plug member are adapted to be forced by the core material, substantially as described.

4. In la drill the combination of a cutter head; a removable cutter bit attached to barrel slidably attached to said head mem- Cil ber; means comprisingr a passage to admit liquid into said core barrel; and slidable means comprising a plug bit adapted to eX- pel the admitted liquid from said core barrel through said last named passage, substantially as described. l

6. In a drill, the combination of a drill stem; an upper head member connected to said stem; a drill pipe connected to said upper head member; a core barrel dis osed in said drill pipe; and rovided Wlth a slidable connection with said hea-d member;

means for .admitting liquid into said core barrel; and a slidable plug bit provided with a guide tube normally closing said core barrel, said bit adapted to be pushed up into said barrel by the core mater1al and to expel liquid from said barrel, substantially as described.

7. In a core drill apparatus, the combination of a head having cutters and a central bore to receive a core of the material being cut, a closure for initially closing the lower end of said bore to prevent material from entering the same, and means whereby said closure isdislodged from its closing position when the drill is rotated, said apparatus having a chamber into which the said closure and core will relatively rise as the cutting at the bottom of the hole proceeds, substantially as described.

8. In a core drill apparatus, the combination of a head having cutters to cut the material, at the bottom of the hole, said apparatus having a chamber into which a core of the material may rise, and a closure normally closing the entrance to said chamber as the'apparatus is being lowered into the well, said closure being dislodged from its normal position as a conse uence of the drill being operated in the we l, to rise in said chamber, followed by the core of the material.

9. In a core drill apparatus, the combination of a head having cutters to cut the material at the bottom of the hole, said apparatus having a chamber into which a core of the material may rise, a closure for the lower end of said chamber having screw threaded connection therewith, and released from said threads due to contact with the bottom of the hole and the rotation of the apparatus,

said chamber being ada ted to receive -the closure, and the core of t e material following it up into said chamber, substantially as described. v 10. In combination in a core drill,'a head having cutters to cut the material at the bottom of the well, said apparatus havin a chamber to receive a core of the material, a closure for the lower end of the chamber screw threaded into connection therewith, said closure having an extension to engage the bottom of the hole and prevent the rotation of the closure in unison with the rotation of the cutter head, whereby said closure will be disconnected from the wall of the chamber to rise therein, followed by the core of the material, substantially as described.

11. -In combination in a core drill, a head having cutters to cut the material at the bottom of the Well, said apparatus havin a chamber to receive a core of the materia a closure for the lower end of the chamberv screw threaded into connection therewith, said closure having an extension to engage the bottom of the hole and prevent the rotation of the closure in unison with the rotation of the cutter head, whereby said closure will be disconnected from the wall of the chamber to rise therein, followed by the core of the material, said closure carrying a lishtail bit, substantially as described.

12. In a core drill apparatus, the combination of a head havin cutters to' cut the material at the bottom o? the hole, said apparatus having a chamber into which a core of the material may rise, and a closure normally closing the entrance to said chamber as the apparatus is bein lowered into the well, said closure being islodged from its normal position as a consequence of the drill being operated in the well, to rise in said chamber, followed by the core of the material, said core receiving chamber being vented at its upper end to the exterior of the apparatus.

13. In a core drill a paratus, the combination of a drill stem t rough which flushin water is directed downwardly, a head having cutters, a core tube within the apparatus having its upper end closed against entrance of water from the drill stem, said apparatus having passages for directing iushing water to the cutters, and a closure Afor the lower end of the apparatus to initially prevent material from entering the core tube until the apparatus is operated in the well, said closure then being automatically dislodged so that the core material may rise in the core tube, substantially as described.

14. In combination in a core drill, a member having a core receiving chamber, cutters, a plug for closing the lower end of the apparatus to prevent the entrance of material until after the apparatus begins to cut `at the bottom of the well, said plug then `'being automatically dislodged to rise into said chamber to be followed by the core, members pivoted in the apparatus to engage the core, said plug having an upward extension to engage said pivoted members to hold them normallyin position, extending upwardly from their pivots.

l5. In combination 1n a core drill, a member having a core receivin chamber, cutters, a plug for closing the ower end of the apparatus to prevent the entrance of material until a er the apparatus begins to cut at the bottom of the well, said plug then being automatically dislodged to rise into lsaid chamber to be followed by the core, f

- members pivoted in the apparatus to engage the core, said plug having an upward extension to engagsaid pivoted members to hold them norma in position, extending upwardly from t eir pivots, said extension being in the' form of a sleeve substantially as water pro'ectin described.

16. In combination in a core drill, a head having cutters at its edge, means for shielding the core of material from the iiushin down from the head and out be on whic the exterior cuttin ed es lie, said head havi g passa es for ushin iuid with their outlets outsi e'of said shiel means and above the lower edge of same, said apparatus having a chamber to receive the core and a plug bit initially closing the lower entrance openin to said chamber, and Eojecting below the s ield means, said plug ing dislodged automatically by contact with the bottom of the hole, to rise into the lsaid chamber to be followed by the core, when the a paratus is operated, substantially as descri d.-

17. In combination in a core drill, a cutter, a core tube, a closure for the lower end of the core tube, said closure being automatically dislodged when the a paratus is rotated to rise into the tube followed Vby the core, retainers held in retracted position initially by a part of the closure, said retainers automatically enga 'ng the core to retain it in the tubewhen t e closure rises to a position above the retainers, substantially as described.

18. In a core drill, the combination of an outer casing or tube, an inner core receiving v'tube with a space between said tubes for the iiow of liushing fluid, a closure for the lower end of the core tube, with means whereby said closure is automatically dislodged to rise into the core tube when pressed up therein b the core of material,

a hollow cutter hea surroundin the core tube and having cutters mounte thereon, and means to convey iiushing fluid to the cutter edges, substantially as described.

19. In combination in a core drill, a rotary drill bit having cutters and having a central bore to receive the core, a drill stem con- 65 lnected to the bit, passages for directing flushing iuid to the cutters, said bit having shield means surrounding the central bore to prevent flushin the core material, t ev outlet of said'flus fluid passages being above the lower edges of the cutters and the cutters having laterally open salces between them for the flow of the flu ng fluid outwardly to the substantially vertical cutting edges of the cutters, said shield means'comprising a ring-shaped member having openings through which the cutters extend to resent their inner cutting edges within said shield, substantially as described. en 20. In combination in a core drill, a rotary drill bit having cutters and having a centraL bore to vreceive the core, a drill stem connected to the bit, passages for directing flushing iuid to the cutters, said bit having es shield means surroundingT the central bore to prevent flushing fluid om acting on the core material, said cutters extendin through said shield means to (present cutting edges inwardly and outwar 1 in respect thereto. I0

21. In a core drill, t e combination of a. hollow bit carrying removable cutters, a chamber to receive the core, a ring removably seated in the core bit and surrounding water from actingl on nig 70 the bore thereof, said rin having slots exel tending from its lower e ge upwardly and terminating short of the top of said ring said removable cutters extending throng said slots and preventing dislodgement of said ring.

In testimony whereof we ax our signatures.

WARREN B. REED. WALTER HEPLER. 

